1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a lens structure and the associated method for manufacturing the lens structure, and more particularly, to a lens structure and the associated manufacturing method operable for use with a three dimensional display system for displaying video images.
2. Technical Background
Various methods and apparatus for forming a three dimensional image when viewed are known in the art, particularly as it relates to three dimensional video or television viewing. As is understood by those skilled in the art, the term “three dimensional,” is an image of an object, or arrangement of objects, to have an appearance of height, width and depth. This contrasts with conventional photographs, videos and unmodified digital format conversions of the same, which display the dimensions of height and width but, for reasons including lack of parallax, do not display a true image of depth. Such images are known as two dimensional images.
There are at least two known methods for recording, arranging and reformatting two-dimensional photographic images, or pluralities thereof (i.e, video content), onto a flat medium or display screen, such as a television, that when viewed create an impression of depth. One is commonly known as the “3-D glasses” method. In its simplest form, a scene is photographed with two cameras, one corresponding to a person's left eye and one corresponding to a person's right eye. The developed pictures, or sequence of pictures for a movie, taken by the two cameras are then projected, one image atop the other, onto a flat screen through two respective projector lenses. The projector lenses apply a different color or polarization to the left and right image, with respect to one another, before overlaying them on the viewing screen. The viewer then wears special glasses that filter, by color or polarization, the overlaid images such that his or her left eye sees only the image from the “left eye” camera, while his or her right eye sees only the image from the “right eye” camera. Because of the parallax between the image seen by the left eye and right eye, the viewer senses an apparent depth, i.e., three dimensions.
There are, however, problems with the “3-D glasses” method. One problem is that the viewer must wear the special glasses. Another is that many viewers become nauseated due to visual distortions when viewing the picture.
A second known method for recording and transforming a two dimensional image, photograph or video onto a different medium which displays it to have apparent depth is the lenticular lens method. The optical principles of lenticular screen imaging are well known to one of ordinary skill in the relevant art. The lenticular lens method typically interlaces different images or viewing angles of a single image, using a raster type interlacing, and then places a sheet formed of a plurality of elongated strip lenses, or lenticules, over the raster image. The overlay is such that each lenticule or lens overlays raster lines. The lenticules are formed such that one image is presented to the viewer's left eye and another image is presented to the viewer's right eye. The difference between the left image and the right image approximates the parallax that the viewer would have experienced if viewing the original image in person.
Increasingly, it has become desirable to produce a three dimensional images or videos on a display device such as a computer monitor or a television screen. This increase in desirability is premised upon the desire to view television programs, games, movies or other video content in three dimensions (commonly referred to as “3D TV”). Various methods and systems are known in the art which overlay a lenticular lens on the computer montior or television screen such that a two dimensional image being displayed on the device will appear to have a three dimensional effect. Unfortunately, the known methods systems suffer several shortcomings. By way of example, known methods and systems have heretofore not provided an adequate manner of interlacing the images to accommodate for the pixel size and pitch of the specific montior or screen upon which it is being projected. By way of another example, known methods and systems do not disclose a manner of producing a lenticular lens which produces a high clarity three dimensional image at the viewing screen or monitor. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a method of manufacture for a lenticular sheet such that the sheet, when produced, corresponds to the pixel size and pitch of the display device which the sheet is attached to. For such methods, is would be desirable to provide an improved three dimensional display system which includes a recording device, a computing device for interlacing recorded images, and a display device having a high clarity lenticular sheet removably, attached thereto.